Refrigerating and air-circulating means for storage rooms



'May 21, 1929. C; A, MOORE 1,713,776

REFRIGERATING AND AIR CIRCULATING MEANS FOR STORAGE -ROOMS Filed Aug. 4, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet l flgfl' i? NK May `2l, 1929. y c. A. MOORE REFRIGERATING AND AIR CIRCULATING MEANS FOR STORAGE RooMs Filed Aug. 4, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mi @1w w il 7///////////////// M M A @NWN W @l m y m .l t Zi |||l1:m| L M MN |||W|Nn| m WN 7W &\\ n. IKMN NHT dw D hx Patented May 2l, 1922.

CHARLES A. MGORE, OF EDINA, MINNESOTA.

REFRIGERATING AND AIR-CIRCULATINGI' MEANSFOR STORAGE ROOMS.

Application filed August 4, 1925.

My invention relates toA improvements in means for refrigerating and circulating air in storage rooms.

It is common in the art to construct and arrange overhead ice bunkers in a manner whereb the air in a storage room is refrigerated bly the ice and'circulated in the room. Refrigerant conductors have also been hung from the ceilings in storage rooms for refrigerating and circulating air therein, but it does not appear that any attempt has been made heretofore denitely to control the ca-' pacity of a refrigerating apparatus in a room and definitely to control the circulation of air set up thereby, whereby given temperatures may be maintained in substantial uniformity from ceiling to floor in the presence of given lading in the room.

An object of the present invention is to supply an assembly of refrigerant conductors adapted to be hung from the ceiling of a storage room and to provide for the selective formation of upright ducts varying in horizontal cross sectional dimensions, also in height and in proximity to the ceiling, each selected duct consisting of Walls of ice accumulated on selected active conductors in the assembly.

With the foregoing and other objects in View, which will appear in the following descri tion, the invention resides in the novel com ination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a view partly in plan and partly in horizontal section, the same showing a room structure and means therein embodying my present invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a similar view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 and Eig. 4 is a like view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawing, it will be seen that the illustrated air refrigerating and circulating means is arranged within the lwalls 10 of a room structure near the ceiling 11 thereof. Said means includes an assembly of horizontally looped conductor units 12 comprising upright inner, intermediate and outer sections a, Z; and c. These conductor units may be suitably formed as from piping bent into the form of loops or buil-t up, as Shown, by fitting together pieces of pipe and elbows. The conductor units 12 of each seotion are identical, the same being carried by hangers 13 suspended from the ceiling 11 of Serial No. 48,049.

the' room structure. In mounting the conductor units 12 in the hangers 13, the units of each section are arranged in tiers, said units being spaced apart verticali and, in form, constituting an upright crib-like structure open at the top and bottom thereof.

Entering the room structure is a feed main 121 for a refrigerant and leading from said structure, at an elevation above said feed main, is a return main 15 for the refrigerant. Inlet headers 16, 17, 18 rising from the feed main .14 respectively pair with companion outlet headers 19, 20, 21 depending from the return main 15. Each looped conductor unit 12 of the outer crib-like section c communicates at one end thereof with the inlet header 16 and at its other end with the outlet header 19 companion to said inlet header. The conductor units 12 of the intermediate and inner sections ZJ, a, likewise respectively communicate with the companion headers 17, 2O and 18, 21. Each of the inlet headers 16, 17 and 18 is fitted with a cut-off valve 22 near its junction with the feed main 14 and each of the outlet headers 19, 20 and 21 is fitted with acut-oif valve 23 near its junction with the return main 14.. Each conductor unit 12 is fitted with a cut-off valve 211 near its junction with its respective inlet header and is also fitted with a cut-off valve 25 near its unction with its respective outlet header.

Assuming that all of the valves 22, 23, 24, 25 are closed and that the device is to be put into operation, the user opens certain of said valves to obtain that refrigerating and air circulating capacity best suited to the particular lading in the room structure, t-he bulk and nature of said lading considered. Very active circulation with relatively great refrigerating effect is obtained by opening all of the valves whereupon enough frost or ice is accumulated upon the conductor units 12 of the three sections, a, 7), c to form a thick Wal led upright duct of ice through which air is rapidly circulated by gravity. A similar effect may be produced by leaving closed the valves 22, 23 in the headers 17, 20 for the conductor units 12 of the intermediate section b. With the device thus adjusted, two ice walled ducts, one within the other, function to circulate and refrigerate the air within 'the room. From the foregoing it will be understood that the sections a, and c may be employed singly or in combination to build up ice walled ducts varying, as desired, in wall thickness and cross-sectional area of duct opening. A further range of adjustment is made possible through the valves 24, 25 of the conductorA units 12 of each of the sections a, b and c. By closing said valves of one or more of the lower units 12, the heights of the ducts employed may be varied, while by closing said valves 24, 25 of one or more of the upper units 12, the same shortening effect is had with the further effect that the distance between the ceiling and the upper end of the duct produced is increased. Also, by the use of said valves 24, 25, ducts may be built up through various combinations of the different sections a, b and c (dotted lines, Fig. 2) which ducts lnay vary from top to bottom not only in wall thickness but in cross sectional area -of duct opening.

Although there is a. wide range of conditions of refrigeration and air circulation desired in a storage room employed for the safe keeping of perishablelading of different kinds in varying bulk,v my improved means, with its various adjustments, will effectively meet such conditions.

Aside from the advantages that have been noted above, the ability to selectively build up an ice duct upon the conductor units 12 of any of the sections a, b and c provides for the defrosting of selected conductor units 12 Without discontinuing the operation of the device. For example, the conductor units 12 of the inner section a. may be in use, While the valves 22, 23 in the headers 17, 20 for the intermediate section b are closed and during which time the ice on the conductor units 12 of said intermediate section b is allowed to melt or to be scraped away as by means of an ice rake.

Changes in the specific form of my invention, as herein disclosed, may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with a room structure of an assembly of refrigerant conductors, located in the upper portion of the structure, and comprising a plurality of crib-like sections, one within the other, each section consisting of a plurality of looped conductor units arranged in tiers, an inlet lheader and an outlet header common to the units of each section, a refrigerant feed main common to the inlet headers, a return main common to the outlet headers, cut-off valves for the headers, each inlet header being fitted With one of said valves at the ingress end thereof, each outlet header being fitted with one of said valves at the egress end thereof, and cut-off valves for the looped conductor units, each unit being fitted at its receiving end with one of said valves and at its discharge end with another of said valves.

2. The combination with a room structure of an assembly of refrigerant conductors spaced from ceiling and floor of the structure and comprising a plurality of sections, one within the other, each section being composed of a plurality oflooped conductor units ar ranged one above the other so as to provide an upright duct, and means for feeding a refrigerant to said sections selectively.

3. The combination witha room structure of an assembly of refrigerant conductors located in the upper portion of the structure and comprising a plurality of sections, one Within the other, each section consisting of vertically spaced looped conductor units, and means for feeding a refrigerant into the sections and into the units of each section selectively.

4. The combination With a room structure of an overhead assembly of looped refrigerant conductors, the reaches of each conductor being sufficiently spaced horizontall to prevent the frosting together thereof, t e corresponding reaches of said conductors being closely superimposed to allow of the frosting together of the same, and -means for supplying a refrigerant to said conductors selectively, whereby different combinations of said conductors may be frosted together vertically along adjacent reaches thereof to form a duct varying in depth and varying in distance from thev top thereof to the ceiling of the room.

5. The combination with a room structure of an overhead assembly of refrigerant pipes arranged in tiers suiiiciently spaced apart horizontally to prevent the frosting together thereof, the pipes in each tier being closely superimposed to permit of the frosting together o the same, each pipe in each tier having a companion pipe in the other tier at substantially the same level, and means for supplying a refrigerant to the dierent pairs of companion pipes. selectively, whereby dif- CHARLES A. MOORE. 

